THE INTERNET
A friend of mine wrote a blog, about how tired she was of people playing games with others online and why some do not show themselves as they truly are, or don't really care about someone elses feelings. They feel online is just a game and play accordingly.
I've been online since 1998 and believe me, I know all too well what she is stating. I've spoken to many, witnessed and heard both sides of online friendships and relationships.
Once you've been online for a while and if you do speak to someone over a period of time, you can definitely sense if the person is really who they say they are. I believe you have to treat the "online" world, as you would the "offline" world. You wouldn't give a complete stranger your personal information, such as address etc, until you felt you knew them well enough and felt comfortable enough to do so and you should do the same with those you meet online. There is not one person, who can say they haven't had at least one bad experience online and that also includes me, but there can be so many positives as well.
For me, the Internet has provided a path in which I am able to share my thoughts, views and writings and meet some very interesting people, some"characters" as well as those I consider friends along the way. Through this medium, my path has crossed with some, that I would never have had the good fortune to meet otherwise. I feel blessed in this respect. Together we have been real enough, to not disguise who we truly are. What you see, is what you get. We not only discuss the good times, but the bad times as well....successes as well as failures. We've shared births, celebrations and deaths of our loved ones. As in the "offline" world, when the chips are down, you know who your true friends are and I have found who my true friends are, both online, as well as offline. I was going to say, as well as in the "real world", but cringed when I saw it in print. That phrase has always bothered me, because for the minority that are not who they profess to be, there are more of those who are. They are real people with real emotions and should be treated as such.
. I have met 4 wonderful people face to face and the experiences were extremely positive. There are those I have yet to meet and have been friends with since 1998 and hope that in the not too distant future, we will finally get a chance to meet face to face as well..
Now there are those who would say that only meeting who they consider to be about 6 good friends is not many, considering the 8 years online. But who can say that offline, they have met 6 people that they would consider as such. We usually have many acquaintances, but how many "good" friends do you really have?
.
You have to use your head, as well as your heart The cyberworld is a learning and growing experience, as are all life lessons, but it can also be a beautiful ride:)
A friend of mine wrote a blog, about how tired she was of people playing games with others online and why some do not show themselves as they truly are, or don't really care about someone elses feelings. They feel online is just a game and play accordingly.
I've been online since 1998 and believe me, I know all too well what she is stating. I've spoken to many, witnessed and heard both sides of online friendships and relationships.
Once you've been online for a while and if you do speak to someone over a period of time, you can definitely sense if the person is really who they say they are. I believe you have to treat the "online" world, as you would the "offline" world. You wouldn't give a complete stranger your personal information, such as address etc, until you felt you knew them well enough and felt comfortable enough to do so and you should do the same with those you meet online. There is not one person, who can say they haven't had at least one bad experience online and that also includes me, but there can be so many positives as well.
For me, the Internet has provided a path in which I am able to share my thoughts, views and writings and meet some very interesting people, some"characters" as well as those I consider friends along the way. Through this medium, my path has crossed with some, that I would never have had the good fortune to meet otherwise. I feel blessed in this respect. Together we have been real enough, to not disguise who we truly are. What you see, is what you get. We not only discuss the good times, but the bad times as well....successes as well as failures. We've shared births, celebrations and deaths of our loved ones. As in the "offline" world, when the chips are down, you know who your true friends are and I have found who my true friends are, both online, as well as offline. I was going to say, as well as in the "real world", but cringed when I saw it in print. That phrase has always bothered me, because for the minority that are not who they profess to be, there are more of those who are. They are real people with real emotions and should be treated as such.
. I have met 4 wonderful people face to face and the experiences were extremely positive. There are those I have yet to meet and have been friends with since 1998 and hope that in the not too distant future, we will finally get a chance to meet face to face as well..
Now there are those who would say that only meeting who they consider to be about 6 good friends is not many, considering the 8 years online. But who can say that offline, they have met 6 people that they would consider as such. We usually have many acquaintances, but how many "good" friends do you really have?
.
You have to use your head, as well as your heart The cyberworld is a learning and growing experience, as are all life lessons, but it can also be a beautiful ride:)
posted by Shayna @ 9:07 PM
2 Comments:
At 2:24 PM,
Rebecca said…
I've always had mixed feelings about "making friends" via the internet, as you well know. While there are a few girls that I'd really like to get together with because we seem to have so much in common - for me, that's as far as it goes. I never really agreed with meeting people of the opposite sex for "friendsies" online... unless of course, you're single. I mean, there are a few guys online who write on my blog and we're friendly, but we don't chat or anything like that. It's more of a mutual blog admiration than a true friendship. Sometimes I think people confuse friendships with acquaintances. And even then, while I think online dating is a wonderful forum to meet people, I don't know that if I was ever single, I'd be trusting enough to take advantage of it. I guess I take the internet and the friends I make along the way with a grain of salt. I don't hold any expectations to them, as this is a fickle community; but I enjoy their presence and comradery. I've never quite understood how some can wrap their lives around their online "friends", but you know - I've always sort of viewed things differently than most. I'm sure it's just an issue within myself. :)
I'm glad that you've had positive experiences - and maybe if I meet some of the girls that I've "met" over the past year, I can say the same. Actually, I was invited to Michigan where 4 of them are all getting together. They all live within a few hours of each other, I'm the only one on the East Coast. I keep teasing them to make a road trip. We'll see....
:)
At 8:40 AM,
Rebecca said…
Hmmm. I can't hear or see the video, either at work or at home? What is it?
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